Chapter 72

Don't mention that name to me! the boy said sullenly, That damned Mudblood! How dare he hurt the Snake King that the great Salazar Slytherin left me! And twice in a row!

Maca? Hurt the basilisk? Harry asked in surprise.

The first time, I was there...and Miss Granger, Lockhart said. Unfortunately, I couldn't save her in time.

Oh—professor, so you already knew— Harry's eyes widened.

Hmph! So what? the boy snorted coldly, A stinky Mudblood wants to save another Mudblood? Ridiculous!

He paused, then sneered again: What's even more ridiculous is that this Mudblood failed to save one, and he actually wanted to save the next...Harry Potter, it's a pity you didn't see it—Wes Miss Lai struggled desperately, crying loudly, but the Mudblood could only lean against the wall, clutching his injured arm, and watched her being taken away by the Snake King—”

Oh, by the way, he couldn't see—because he didn't have the guts to open his eyes the whole time—that's a good joke, isn't it?

Harry clenched his fists and stared at him resentfully.

And Ron, who was standing aside and hugging Ginny, had been hanging his head since just now, looking at Ginny's face and wondering what he was thinking.

We did blame Maca by mistake... Harry said angrily, And all of this is your fault!

Don't say that... I've been waiting for you since Ginny and I got here, and I knew you'd come. I have a lot of questions for you! Harry Potter.

What's the question? Harry snapped, fists still clenched.

Say, said the boy, with a pleasing smile, how on earth does a baby, without any particularly magical spells, defeat the greatest wizard who ever lived? How can you escape unscathed, leaving only The next scar, and Voldemort's power destroyed?

Now there was a strange red light in his wolf-like eyes.

Why do you care how I escaped? Harry exclaimed. What does it matter to you!

Of course! Of course it matters! Just because my name is Tom Riddle.

Harry immediately thought of the name in the diary, but he had no clue as to the key to it.

But before Harry had time to wonder for long, Riddle gave an explanation directly.

Voldemort, said Riddle softly, is my past, present and future, Harry Potter... just move the letters and you'll see, in fact—

In fact, he is Voldemort, Voldemort at the age of sixteen, Lockhart said.

He is... Voldemort? Harry couldn't help being taken aback when he heard this.

Do you think I'm going to bear the name of my filthy Muggle father for the rest of my life? You know, in my veins runs the blood of Salazar Slytherin himself, passed down to me through his daughter ! Am I going to keep that disgusting common Muggle name?

He dumped me when I wasn't even born because he found out his wife was a witch! No, Harry. I figured out a new name for myself, and I know that someday, when I'm the world's greatest When I was a magician, wizards everywhere dare not say this name easily!

Riddle's tone became more and more intense, and his voice became louder.

At this moment, Lockhart suddenly took a big step forward.

The greatest magician? He looked at Riddle with a strange look, Do you really think that the person who did such a thing would be a great magician?

Lockhart pointed to the diary at the foot of the Slytherin statue, and asked meaningfully.

You know what that is!

Hearing the deep meaning in Lockhart's words,

Immediately he showed surprise.

Riddle immediately gave up his original plan, no longer in the mood to continue talking nonsense with Harry, but decisively turned around and opened his mouth to the Slytherin statue, making a hissing sound—only Harry I understood what he said.

Speak to me, Slytherin - the greatest of the Hogwarts Four!

The great stone face of Slytherin moved, and its mouth opened wider and wider until it formed a huge black hole.

It seems that something is moving in the mouth of the statue, and it is sliding upwards from the depth of the statue.

Close your eyes! Back off! Lockhart yelled.

Harry and Ron dragged Ginny back quickly, crashing into the dark wall of the chamber almost at the same time, their eyes closed tightly.

A huge object fell to the stone floor suddenly, and everyone felt the secret room tremble.

They both knew what was going on and could feel the serpent unfurling its coiled body from the Slytherin's mouth.

Then Harry heard Riddle's hiss.

Kill him!

But what Riddle didn't expect was that the man in front of him who looked like a soft guy had an extremely fast reaction speed.

Although Lockhart also had his eyes closed at this time, he pointed his wand at the stone pillar beside him as if he could see the surrounding situation.

Torn apart!

Under the effect of the cutting curse, a part of the stone pillar crashed to the ground and broke into several pieces.

Immediately, Lockhart waved his wand again, and one of the stones quickly turned into a big rooster.

damn it!

Riddle immediately felt something was wrong, but because he didn't have a wand in his hand, he couldn't make effective interference at all.

He waved his hand at Lockhart abruptly, and a thrust formed by magic suddenly hit the rooster, but was easily resolved by Lockhart with a wave of his wand.

The rooster suddenly crowed, and the crowing effect was obvious, and the basilisk immediately started to swim around in a panic. For a while, several stone pillars were cracked, dust was flying everywhere, and the scene was quite chaotic.

Lockhart took this opportunity and quickly ran to the foot of the stone statue under the cover of the dusty sky.

On the other hand, Riddle obviously planned to do the same, and it was unknown because of the difference in his form that the blurred Riddle was faster than Lockhart!

But when Riddle passed Lockhart all of a sudden, he didn't notice that Lockhart stopped running immediately.

He swung his wand swiftly and decisively, and a black mist skull the size of a human head suddenly rushed out from the tip of the wand, flying forward like a ghost, and landed behind Riddle's blurry figure without any tricks. .

what--

Withstood the sudden impact of the black mist skull, Riddle's figure became even more blurred, as if he couldn't control his shape, he couldn't stop twisting.

Not long after, the figure split into two phantoms, large and small. The big one went straight to the diary, while the small one drew an arc in the air and landed on Ginny accurately.

After the big phantom gradually merged into the diary, Lockhart waved his wand and called the diary back into his hands.

In fact, he could have done this just now, and the act of running over suddenly was just for Riddle to see.

This series of actions was almost completed within a few seconds, and he was caught off guard, leaving almost no chance for Riddle to react.

After finishing Riddle, Lockhart closed his eyes again, and once again rushed into the unsettled dust with his head covered.

After a while, a loud hiss was heard from a certain corner of the secret room, followed by a heavy landing.

In the opposite corner, obscured by dust, Lockhart was standing next to the giant head of the basilisk. His eyes were not on the scales or fangs of the basilisk, but what he cared more about was the unremarkable horn on its head.

That is actually the most precious part of the basilisk!

According to legend, Salazar Slytherin once used it as the core of his wand, and its power is quite amazing.

Come out! I think you should understand what to do next. Lockhart—or, Maca who looked like Lockhart, said so.

Of course! Nothing could be easier!

Following the voice, a figure suddenly appeared not far away—that was the real Lockhart himself. He handed over a suitcase in his hand.

Take them away, leave it to me to deal with here.

Of course, happy cooperation, Mr. McLean.

...

When the real Lockhart hurried to Harry and the others, a soft moan sounded faintly - Ginny had already woken up.

Her blank gaze first looked left and right, then at Ron who had been hugging her, and finally fell on Harry who was a little embarrassed.

Immediately, her tears flowed down.

Oh—Harry, I wanted to tell you at breakfast, but in front of Percy, I didn't...couldn't say I did it, Harry, but I...I swear, didn't mean to Yes, Riddle made me, he got hold of me! Oh—where is Riddle at...? The last thing I remember is that he came out of the diary—”

Don't worry, it's all right! I've already killed them! Look— Lockhart said happily, pointing to the huge corpse deep in the secret room.

But Ginny didn't seem to feel much peace of mind.

I'm going to be fired! Ginny cried, as Ron helped her wobble to her feet without a word, I've been looking forward to going to Ho... Gwartz came to study, and now I have to leave, what will Mom and Dad... how to say?

At Lockhart's urging, they made their way through the dark, empty, echoing room and back into the tunnel. But they didn't notice that the stone gate behind them didn't close because they left.

Of course, even if they noticed it, they would never have imagined that at this moment, there is actually a person dismembering the basilisk's corpse!